The present invention relates to a universal advertising and payment system and method for retail store applications including point of sale transactions, and window display transactions. Additionally the present invention relates to networking, monitoring, collecting data, selling goods and services, controlling interactive advertising, controlling and effectuating electronic commerce and controlling vending equipment. The present invention also relates to physical and virtual networking of vending locations and machines including retail point of sale systems and electronic store window displays, and network hardware, server based network control, and network security. The present invention can be implemented in a manner to allow operational monitoring and control of networks (and network hardware), vending locations and machines, electronic mail (e-mail), electronic commerce (e-commerce), electronic business (e-business), payment for goods and services, delivery of goods and services, and advertising worldwide.
The growth of the Internet has created a new way to buy, sell, trade, and barter goods and services worldwide. This new form of buying, selling, trading, and bartering may commonly be referred to as electronic commerce or e-commerce and or electronic business or e-business. The process of conducting these types of transactions can be called an electronic commerce transaction, electronic business transaction. e-commerce transaction, or e-business.
In addition, as more businesses gain access to the Internet the way businesses conduct business may also change. This new form of conducting business on the Internet can be referred to as electronic business, or e-business.
As more individuals and businesses gain access to and or develop a presence on the Internet more goods and services can be made available and offered to buy, sell, trade, and or barter. Resultant from rapid growth trends in Internet usage, e-commerce transaction and e-business transaction trends may also be increasing.
As individuals become more reliant on the Internet for e-mail, e-commerce and e-business the demands for access to the Internet may increase. In addition, to the buying, selling, trading, and bartering supported on the Internet other services vital to daily business may also be performed online.
For example, Internet banking, stock and security trading, and e-mail and e-business communication may also be a growing functional need of the Internet. Unfortunately only individuals with access to computers that have Internet connectivity can use these services. In large part this may limit the access to Internet services since many potential users might only have access to an Internet capable computer at home or at a place of employment. Even if a computer with Internet access is available the opportunity to surf through tens of thousands of Internet web sites may require more time than is available or may be an inappropriate use of time (as may be common in the work place environment).
Additionally, a computer with Internet access may be too foreboding in time and or skill required from a potential user in finding the appropriate web site, identifying the goods or services desired, and ultimately conducting an e-mail, e-commerce, or e-business transaction. Furthermore, the potential lack of security of sensitive credit card and transaction information, and other sensitive data may be a real threat in discouraging potential users from performing e-commerce transactions. Thus a potential customer may become scared, and or frustrated choosing not to partake in e-mail, e-commerce, or e-business transactions all together.
There are numerous problems for Internet based businesses (referred to as virtual companies or virtual businesses) in that increased competition on the Internet may see their growth diminish. The barrier to entry of a virtual company can be little more than a computer hooked to the Internet. As more web sites appear selling similar products, a virtual company""s ability to differentiate itself from other virtual companies may diminish. Head-to-head competition may shrink profit margins, potentially jeopardizing an entire business enterprise. In addition, web based businesses may struggle to uniquely identify themselvesxe2x80x94after all most if not all virtual companies exist on web pages, and web pages only.
In addition to virtual companies having to compete with other virtual companies, virtual companies have to compete with brick and mortar type companies. Brick and mortar type companies may be referred to as physical companies. Physical companies are companies with physical locations that the public can access.
Physical companies may have several advantages over virtual companies. For instance, a physical company can display discounts, specials, and or merchandise in a way that a potential customer can see, touch and feel the merchandise before buying. Virtual companies lack storefronts in the public where consumer can familiarize themselves with a companies products and or services.
Another advantage physical companies may have over virtual companies can be that in many cases physical companies can see their competition coming. To elaborate, physical companies can more easily monitor their competition by counting the number of retail outlets, and tracking new store openings. Furthermore, it is much easier for a company with physical locations to expand by developing an Internet business, than it is for a virtual company to expand by buying or building physical locations.
Though physical companies may have certain advantages in that they are publicly accessible they still may have difficulties in getting customers to come into the store. In many cases a customer may not be aware of a store special, or may simply not have the time to impromptu walk around the store.
A physical company, such as a retail store may try to entice customers to enter their establishment by displaying merchandise in a window display. In this fashion a customer walking by the store can see the merchandise and may choose to enter the store to obtain merchandise details or purchase certain goods and or services.
A shortcoming of the store window displays can be that only a finite number of goods and services can be displayed at one time. In addition, many stores do not have storefront windows or only have a limited amount of storefront window space. Storefront windows with limited space can make it difficult to display more than a few items at a time.
Another shortcoming of storefront windows can be lengthy and costly time and ongoing maintenance. In addition to the cost of the merchandise in the display window, the display itself (tables, furnishings, curtains, etc.) can be expensive.
Display maintenance may include periodic merchandise rotation to keep the display up to date, and or fresh looking. For example, sales can run for a limited period of time, the display may contain perishable food related items, and or potential customers may lose long term interest in the businessxe2x80x94if the same goods and services are shown day after day in the same window display.
Physical companies may suffer in other ways including disappointing a customer when selection is small, or the desired item is unavailable, a non-stock item, or sold out. In these cases, a dissatisfied customer may have wished they could have just ordered the item on the Internet instead of having incurred the trouble of shopping at a physical location.
A number of deficiencies support the long felt need of the present invention including the lack of physical storefront opportunities available to virtual companies. In addition, the cost of developing and maintaining storefront windows can be expensive and troublesome to a physical company.
Virtual companies can suffer from the inability to provide physical products that customers can touch and feel before purchasing. In addition, customers may have to wait for products to be shipped from a virtual company whereas, physical companies may have the items immediately available in stock.
In addition, the inability of the virtual companies to generate physical points of presence in the public may make virtual companies susceptible to competition from physical companies that decide to diversify by developing a competing virtual business.
The present invention is embodied in a simple and effective system and method for a retail store point of sale system for applications including point of sale transactions, and or e-commerce and e-business type transactions. E-commerce and e-business transactions can occur inside or outside the store. Transactions can be conducted by way of interactive window displays. Additionally, the present invention embodies a universal control and payment system to distribute and display interactive advertising, conduct electronic mail, electronic commerce, electronic business, and control billing for the use of vending equipment and locations. Vending locations can include point of sale systems, property management systems, management information systems, and retail stores including credit card processing terminals and retail store window display areas. Vending equipment can include but is not limited to copiers, phones (public, private, cellular), facsimile machines, printers, data-ports, laptop print stations, notebook computers, palmtop computer (PALM PILOT), microfiche devices, projectors, scanners, cameras, modems, communication access, personal data assistants (PDA""s), pagers, and other types of vending machines, personal computers (PC), PC terminals (NET PC), and network computers (NC).
One aspect of the present invention provides a system for public access to electronic mail (e-mail), electronic commerce (e-commerce), and electronic business (e-business). More specifically, the present invention can control, monitor, and effectuate e-mail, e-commerce, and e-business transactions such that the general public can use the present invention as a public access electronic commerce station. E-business includes data communication related to business activities, and includes financial related information, and public transportation information.
Another aspect of the present invention provides the ability to route e-mail, e-business, and e-business transactions, allowing e-mail, e-commerce, e-business transactions including credit card and other types of transactions to be processed in an online environment.
It is understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, but are not restrictive of the invention.